Heart Health

"With far infrared therapies you have increased cardiac function, increased metabolic function and increased vascular dilation. Those components help to increase the health of the heart and help to restore cardiovascular functions. It's like being a runner, only don't have to run."

Dr. Daryl Bourke----Medical Research and Development Division

Heart Health and Far Infrared Sauna Therapy

Far infrared sauna therapy has been used successfully to support and treat cardiovascular diseases and has been studied in many leading medical journals.

In a 2009 study from the Journal of Cardiology, researchers studied how far infrared sauna treatments could help patients with arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Over thirty patients who had been monitored with 24 hour Holter monitors where randomized into groups. Those who received two weeks of daily, fifteen minute treatments with far infrared sauna therapy had a substantial decrease in abnormal heart rates over a monitored 24 hour period.

In a 2005 article from the Journal of Cardiac Failure Japanese researchers studied the use of far infrared sauna therapy with patients who had systolic congestive heart failure. The study included 15 hospitalized patients who used a far infrared sauna daily for four weeks. Thirteen of the fifteen patients had reduced blood pressure and an increased exercise tolerance after only four weeks of therapy.

In a 2001 study from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, far infrared sauna therapy was studied to evaluate if it improved endothelial (the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels) function in patients with coronary risk factors such as elevated cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and in smokers. Twenty five men with these risk factors had a substantial improvement in vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels), reducing turbulence in the blood vessels and allowing blood to be pumped farther. This study showed that far infrared therapy can be beneficial for patients who have an increased risk for atherosclerosis. Since Asian cultures have traditionally used far infrared therapies for over a century, many of the most recent and promising studies have been coming from the medical schools and journals in Japan and China.

"A review by the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found evidence supporting the use of infrared sauna treatments for normalizing blood pressure and cholesterol levels, treating congestive heart failure, and helping with chronic pain. That means an infrared sauna is a good way to help prevent high blood pressure and improve heart health.

Another study published in the Journal of The Japanese Circulation Society backs up that research, as the study found that infrared sauna treatment can help patients who have heart arrhythmias and suffer from chronic heart failure. Repeated treatments with a 60 degrees Celsius sauna improved functioning of the heart and lowered incidence of ventricular arrhythmias.

Patients were randomized into sauna­treated or non­treated groups, with the sauna group undergoing a two­week program of a daily 60 degrees C far­infrared­ray dry sauna treatment for 15 minutes at a time, followed by 30 minutes of bed rest. Heart rate variability normalized in the sauna group (including having plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentrations decrease) compared with the non­treated group."

Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, DC, CNS

There are numerous studies that have been published that show that using far infrared sauna therapy can be a successful and supportive therapy for patients who are currently faced with cardiovascular disease. From a preventative point of view, using far infrared sauna therapy can be a pro­active, safe and enjoyable way to decrease risk factors for stroke, heart attack and atherosclerosis. For those people who are undergoing care for cardiovascular conditions, far infrared sauna has been clinically shown to improve outcomes and quality of life.